What Students Say

“Through the practice of Tai Chi, I was able to achieve an enhanced sense of balance and how I moved in the world. My Tai Chi practice is the thing I do that makes everything else I do go better.”

“Your concept of exercise changes at BTC. It takes awhile to realize that you can relax and still get things done.”

“What I find in classes with Don Ethan Miller at BTC that makes it worth the trek from Ohio to Massachusetts is a teacher whose knowledge is beyond any previous exposure I have enjoyed, and much more of a guide in exploration of the core principles underlying anyone’s style of Tai Chi than a teacher presenting information to interpret and absorb. To me, classes are fun, informative, understandable, and invigorating. The things I learn in Brookline inform my personal practice of Tai Chi and Qigong in Ohio, and impact my approach to teaching my senior citizens’ classes in ways that they appreciate. More I cannot ask.”

“The group dynamic is very unique. There’s a balance between feeling alone yet together.”

“In Saturday’s seminar, Don revealed the five energies–rooting, billowing, fluidity, tenacity and condensing–through simple, easily followed exercises, which produced those qualities in each of us to varying degrees. This was not a subjective experience. Don did not leave the results to our imaginations, but probed each result by having us test our performance with a partner before and after each experiment. I experienced an upgrade in my Tai Chi during Saturday’s seminar that exceeded all of the progress that I’ve made in thepast forty years. I was able to root to the ground so that I was immovable. I could effortlessly float a heavier partner, and became functionally invincible to all efforts to disrupt…Don has unlocked some of Tai Chi’s most intriguing promises, almost universally unmet, and has developed a method of teaching them that simply works. Like many of us who were there, I left feeling elated with new physical powers that I never dreamed I’d possess.” –Ted Box, Vineyard Haven, MA.

“I have been using many tai chi moves as I clean the house, cook, walk to the store etc. I think mindfully about what joints I’m using and try to use them in the way we’ve been taught. This has saved me much loss of strength and flexibility during this confining time I am sure. In addition of course it has helped with mood and anxiety.”

“BTC’s teaching style is very low key. There’s a lot of guidance but no pressure.”

“I was fortunate to have met Don Miller and Brookline Tai Chi at a Massachusetts Falls Coalition Meeting this past summer. Don guided the meeting members through the basic principles of Tai Chi. Having never practiced, I was most stunned by how I mentally felt after completing the short session–I felt stronger, empowered even. As a physical therapist, it was enlightening to me to realize that Tai Chi works on teaching the body the basics of balancing, versus challenging impaired balance which is often the therapeutic approach. Since taking that brief session, my organization, Rehab 365, has begun incorporating the Brookline Tai Chi basics into our community outreach program, Brains, Balance & Breakfast. Many of our participants have previously experienced falls and often note a lingering feeling of fear associated with having another fall. After participating in our Brookline Tai Chi-inspired exercises, many participants echo my sentiments–they feel stronger and are less fearful of falling. I am so fortunate to have met Don Miller and the Brookline Tai Chi team.”